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Happy New Year Faeries! I hope 2012 is treating you well so far! Melanie Dawn recently posted an article about altars and how we do it, so I thought it would be a good time to share with you my favorite shop for candles and magickal supplies.

I was lucky enough to come across White Magick Alchemy browsing on Etsy, but you can also purchase directly from their website:

I first purchased some lovely blue pillar Litha Faerie candles for my Summer Solstice / Litha altar. These candles smelled divine, of summer flowers and herbs. Perfect for a faerie day and celebration! They were beautifully dusted with silver, shimmery glitter. If you know about faeries , than you know there’s nothing they like more than glitter. I was delighted that these beauties burned for all three evenings of our celebration.

I also ordered some Litha casting herbs for blessing our sacred ritual fire. I was very impressed with the quality and variety of this herbal blend. It also makes it really easy to bless your fire or cauldron since all the herbs associated with the season are in the mix, so it takes out the guess work on knowing which to herbs to use.

What is really notable about all the products that this gem of a shop offers is the quality is truly exceptional. All the candles and hand poured by the shop owner or her daughters. They use high quality, natural scents, oils, and wax. Everything is made when the moon is right and witch blessed honoring the old ways.

For Lamas I got a beautiful candle as a birthday gift for Melanie. This is her special day like Litha is mine so I knew she needed a special candle of her own. It was a beautiful dark purple / wine color and it smelled of ripe berries, and harvest fruits. Again the quality was superb and perfect for the season.

For Samhain I tried out the Between Worlds Pumpkin and Séance candle set for my ancestor altar. They smelled so yummy of pumpkin goodness and spice. Perfect for the fall season. I even found an adorable mini cauldron that is perfect for making a quick altar in the woods because it’s small and easy to pack. It’s so cute and it’s just like a regular size cauldron so you can use it to burn incense on a charcoal disc inside.

Samhain Altar ~ 2011

For Yule I got two Wassail candles, a Holly King candle, a Yule Faerie candle, and incense, and Yule casting herbs . (The Wassail and the Holly King are the candles in the photo at the top of the page). Again they did not disappoint. Smelling of traditional Yule and Christmas memories of times past. What is lovely about these candles is that they make your space smell good even when not burning!

There are many Faerie offerings on the site and some of my favorites are the Yule Faerie Incense, any of the Faerie Statues, and the Faerie Dust for leaving offerings for the faeries. I also love the Pink Sugar Faerie Perfume. At first I had to acclimate myself to the scent, but after wearing it for a bit I’m now addicted to this perfume and wear it every day. It’s a generous portion, comes in an adorable glass bottle. It’s a beautiful shade of pink and it’s loaded with the finest faerie dust, aka: glitter!

I highly recommend the Money Drawing Spell Kit! It includes everything you require in a handy kit. I can say first had that it really works! The day after I did this spell I got a notice in the mail of unclaimed money of mine from an old insurance payment. They had an old address and had been trying to find me so they could send me a check. I know others swear by it as well!

Really I cannot say enough good things about White Magick Alchemy and it’s wares. The shop owner Nancy, is super sweet and I really feel good about supporting her. Everything is packed with care and you can tell that she puts lots of love and light into her products. Consider joining her mailing list so you find out about new products and sales. If you need any supplies or looking for adornments for your sacred space this would be the first place I would go. You are sure to find something that takes your fancy. You won’t be disappointed and I’m sure you’ll be looking for the next opportunity to order again.

Candlemas is almost here, and since good things can take some time I would order now if you want something special to complete your altar. I know I’ll be looking for the next reason to place a new order and what better than honoring the season, the old traditions and celebrating your spirituality!

Summer Solstice is a magical time and one of my favorite times of the year. For one it’s my birthday and it’s also a faerie day, where the veil between our world and the land a faerie is thin. For these reasons I have a very personal connection to this season. Even before I started on my spiritual path I would celebrate my birthday outside in nature, and often dancing under the stars. It was when I met my faerie partner in magic Melanie Dawn that Solstice started to have an even deeper meaning for me. It was the first of the Sabbats that I began to honor and celebrate. It marked my initiation into the “Old Ways” which has lead to fully embracing my inner faerie and spiritual self.

Summer Solstice occurs sometime between June 20th – 21st in the northern hemisphere. Solstice means sun stands still and this is because as the sun reaches its highest point in the sky for the few days on and around Solstice the sun appears to stand still in the heavens. It is the longest day of the year, where the night is short and the light reigns. Just imagine how magical this must have been to ancient peoples who worshiped the sun as their God. The Sun represents the divine masculine and is the giver of life. Ancient peoples depended on the sun for sustenance and food for the coming winter months ahead. Cultures all around the world for eons have held celebrations, festivals, gatherings and rituals to mark this special time of year. Fire ceremonies are traditional for Solstice to pay homage and honor to the sun.

Another name for the Summer Solstice is The Cusp of Magic because all the land is bathed in warmth and light and the earth is lush and full of worldly delights. Everyone loves the summertime. It’s a time to play and enjoy the warm season. We also get to enjoy seasonal fruits such as berries, stone fruits and other delicious treats from the earth. All these things are possible because of the sun and the other elements that generously give to us year after year. It is also the time you are most likely to see or encounter a faerie or faeries. Faeries love this magical time and celebrate by dancing, singing, playing, making mischief and partaking in the drink and fruits of the season!

For the past 15 years we have been involved in or have thrown a party in honor of Summer Solstice. The first big outdoor party we went to was for my 21st birthday up in the Sierra Mountains where the altitude connects you to the heavens in a truly magical way. A synchronistic day indeed, my golden birthday 21 on the 21st! At this event we made many long lasting friendships which have been a true blessing and changed our lives and many wondrous and lovely ways. Over the years we have held our celebration all over California, but since 2003 we have been lucky to have the use of our good friends Dane and Derek’s property on the Carmel River. This land is very magical and having the river, trees, animals and elements makes this a very special place. Friends and family gather for the weekend to enjoy the land, listen to music, eat well and celebrate under the sun, moon and stars.

The thing I look forward to most about Solstice is our traditional ritual and the creative inspiration that comes with the planning and preparation. All year we work hard coming up with ideas for the altars, the ceremony and attending to the little details that make each year special and meaningful.

Each year we do a gratitude ritual to give thanks for all the good things in our lives. We also use this opportunity to release anything that is not serving us and begin the process of manifesting our dreams into reality. Attendees dress in white, and we each add magical herbs and other offerings to a collective offering to honor and thank Mother Earth, Father Sky, Grandmother Moon and Grandfather Sun. The idea of the ritual is based on the Goddess Pachamama, she is a Mother Goddess who’s name means Mother World or Good Mother. She is native to indigenous peoples of the Andes. We of course add our own individuality and creativity to this ceremony based on our intuition and feelings, thus making it our own. We prepare a sacred ritual fire, and allow it to burn down. We then add our offering to the embers and wait and see if Mother Earth will accept our offering. We know its accepted if bursts into flames and burns. Every year we lose our breath a little while we wait to see if our offering is accepted. A truly magical and blessed moment! It is truly amazing to witness how our celebration can touch and inspire the people who attend.

Many moons ago Melanie Dawn made a wish for me. Her wish was that I would grow and embrace my true spiritual nature. Guess what? That wish came true! All because she lighted the way for me and opened the door. For this I am eternally grateful and honored. This is our heartfelt wish for everyone who is lucky enough to experience our Solstice celebration and ritual. We want to light the path that opens the way to embracing all your spiritual gifts and raise the collective consciousness of all who are open to recognizing that there are many blessings in life to celebrate. The power of belief is real and by expressing your heartfelt gratitude and focusing your intent you can make all your dreams come true!

May your Summer Solstice be filled with magic, and faerie dust!

Blessings to the light!
Blessings to the Faeries and Ascended Masters who guide us!

….enchanted worlds still exist because the child within us never dies. The doorways may be more obscure, but we can still seek them out. There are still noble adventures to undertake. There are still trees that speak and caverns that lead to nether realms. There will always be faeries and elves within nature because they will always be dancing within our hearts. ~Ted Andrews

This is a work of fiction. All the characters in it, human and otherwise, are imaginary, excepting only certain of the fairy folk, whom it might be unwise to offend by casting doubts on their existence. Or lack thereof. ~Neil Gaiman